Guide means for removing wire from stationary reel



March 25, 1958 a. w. BELL 2,8

GUIDE MEANS FOR REMOVING WIRE FROM STATIONARY REEL Filed Sept. 21, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet l K G' 35 l2 x A Wm 33 5 A I \2 I: w- H i l I n \1\ l l -22 l I I I 22 V H v g' INVENTOR.

GEORGE W. BELL ATTORNEYS March 25, 1958 G. w. BELL v GUIDE MEANS FOR REMOVING WIRE FROM STATIONARY REEL Filed Sept. 21, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. GEORGE W. BELL v ATTORNEYS United States PatentC 2,828,091 GUIDE S FOR REMOVING WIRE FROM STATIONARY REEL George W; Bell, Sterling, lll., assignor to Northwestern Steel"&'Wire Company, Sterling, Illl, a corporation of Illinois Application September 21, 1956, Serial No. 611,150 3 Claims. (CL.242128).

This invention relates: to, improvements. in guiding. de-

vices for guiding wireifor unwinding from a stationary reel.

Wire drawing machines areusually provided with coiling blocks atthedischarge end of the machineuponwhich the finishedwire coiled. The coiled wire is usuallyv removed fromthe block.which rotates-about ahorizontal axis.- and: is usually placed on avertical axis; reel. from i which itzis unwound-for furtherprocessing. Duetothe necessity of? removing the coil of. wire from thecoiling block and transferring it to anunwinding reel, theiheight of the coil has been limited. In order to avoidrthis' trans ferring and to enable the. coiling of Wire intocoils by relativelygreat length or height, the practice has developed of laying the wire ontoa stationary coiling block', which is usually horizontal, and then directly transferring the wire from thestationary coiling block onto a vertically extending open stake reel,vwhich isremovedfrom'the wire drawing machine and coilingdevicefor rfurther processing as'in my Patent- No.v 2,629,564 dated February 24, 1953 The wire is then unwound from the stationary reel-i While this process of coiling wire enables: the wire to be coiled into far larger coils than has heretofore been possible, difiiculty has been encountered in unwinding, the Wire from the stationary reel without kinking or snarling of the wire. v v

. A principal object of. the present invention is to remedy the foregoing difficulties by providing a simple fornr of wire guiding device forming a core for the coil ofwireon its reel and maintaining the coil of wire in itscoiledform, and guiding the wire to promote. orderly uncoiling thereof, and to avoid kinking and snarling of thewire a during uncoiling.

A further object ot the invention is to provide aguiding device for guiding wire for unwinding. from coils on stationary reels of relatively great vertical height byproviding a movable core and guide for the coil of wire, progressing downwardly withthe coil, as the wire is unwound therefrom and guiding the wireto be uniformly unwound from the reel without kinking or snarling.

A still further object of the invention is to provide aguiding device for guiding wire for unwinding from a stationary reel in'whi'ch an open core and guide is provided, which is detachable from the reel, for mounting within. the coil of wire wound thereon to form a score therefor, and to move downwardly with the coil of wire during. unwinding thereof, andv in whichv a series of wire guides are disposed above the open core and guide, the upper of which. is stationary and the lower of which is movable downwardly with the open core and guide for a portion of downward travelthereof, to provide a guide for the wire to assure uniform guiding of the wire during the unwinding operation of the entire coil therefrom, the distance between adjacent guides of which is maintained sufi'iciently short to prevent kinking andsnarling of the wire.

These and other objects of the invention will appear from time to time as the followingspecification proceeds 2,828,091 Patented Mar. 25, 1958 Figure Z-is avi'ew 'in side elevation of the reeljandfguid: ing'device shown in Figure 1; showing the reel partially full;

Figure 3= is a= view in side elevation of the reel and guide ingdevice shown in- Figure 1, drawn to a reduced scale and showingr-the wir'e trained up from the reel and turned aboutan unwinding drum;

Figure:- 4': is: anexplod'ed' view of the a reel and guiding device;shownainrEigure l;

Figure 5 is; it' planaviewof the reel with thegui'ding device removed therefrom;

Figures6 isz'aplan vi'eveofth'e guide and corefonthe reel; 4

liigurefl. iszaplarrviewzofithe base for thereel and-f Figurer'S is a plamview offthe top guide-forthe wire-.

In the embodiment of the inventionillustrated in the drawings; Ifh-avesliown a reel10 :of the open stake type, mountedc on; azbasei lit'spacingrthe reel above the ground: Lhaveralsosl'iownaguide azndtcore I'Z-for a coil of-*wire- 1'3", detachable from thetreel and' slid'ably placed on thereel afteietheicoiling: of'the wire thereon, to engage withinthe wilTofwire-and'l torma coreth'erefor and to move'd'ownwar dlyrwith -tthe coil',.as1 thewire. is unwound therefrom, to provide a continuously downwardly moving core and guidezfor'the'sWirerduring the: entire uncoiling operation of ther-wire.v

I:=.l-rave also shown a top guide ring 15 placedon thetop oftthe reeliafter theioperation: of'coili'ngthe wire thereon, anck-have sliown guide-ring- 16 resting on'the top offithe corerand guide;lzvwihenthereel'is-full'and moving down-.

wardly:withrthecorejand guides lzfasthe wire is unwound:

fromv rhea-reel, Dewnward movement-of' the guidering 16?; isrlimitedeby chainsiflfsecured between theri-ngs 15 and 16? twassure-tlrat :the-slengthzof; the wire guided==dnring the unwinding: operatiomwi-llbe sufliciently short to prevent kinkingzand snarlingofithewire;

L- havea; ail'so diagrammatically'shown in Figure 33 a, fragmentzoflazdrurm 159; spaced; above the'reel and the. top; guide ring 15, about which the wire may be turned and? unwound:f1iom;-the, reehjfor-further processing. Itshould here:beiunderstoedthattherdrum 19-may1 serve-as a guide. forthe wire 'fromfiheereelj or may bepower driven-to: uncoilz the wire fromthereal, and that-the-wire may be. wound; on said? drum or may be turned: about said drunr' withsoneiturmand fromthere-mfly pass through annealing, pickling, galvanizingor further stages.

The base 11. is-hereinshowmas-being-in the form: of a; ring: ZU-fOI'IIIQdifIOm' a rod bent and welded at its ends; and braced by. radially: extending: slats'21, which may be; weldedto said ringqattheir ends, The ring 20; is spaced above the eand:on 'legsv ;..sh wnas ing in the term;

and with reference to vthe accompanying drawings wherein: p Figure 1 is aview in side elevationof a reel and guiding devicepons'h-uctedin accordance wi-tlrthe invention showingthe reel as being empty;

of angles and welded or otherwisesecured-to the, slats H; attheir-upperends;

The-reel 10 inludQs a:ring-2 3 which'm-ay be'placed on the ring; 20 an m y ither be t h efrem e. ring 29 orm v w lded heret if ed- T ring- 23' braced by radially extending slats 24, like the slats 21- and; having; vertically extending rods 25 extending: upwar; y therefrom and welded: or otherwise secured: thereto. The; rods 25" are braced'bygusset plates 26 welded; or Qthfife wisei secured to; said slats and he inner sides Qf said r ds: The reel 10 also includes a cap in the; form of segments; 21 weld d'to. th pp rnd of: he r s 2 d extend; r dially nwardly h ef om tea c l r. 29, co x' l withthe center of he reel, t whi h said s gments; are welded or; o herwise sec red The inside f he elle 29: forms a. guide for a s ev 30' epen ing from the. upper guide ring 15 and eeax-ial wi h h ce r hereof The: spaces between the segments '27 form radiallyexte'n'din'g slots 31 for receiving, spaced legs 33 of the i core and guide 12, to-aecommodate said core and guide to be placed within the coil of wire on the reel and to move downwardly therewith, during uncoiling thereof.

The core and guide 12 is in the form of an open spider having a top guide ring 35 slightly'smaller in diameter than the intermediate guide ring .16 and having the legs 33 welded or otherwise secured thereto and extending downwardly therefrom. The legs 33 are inclined inwardly from the periphery of the ring 35, as they extend downwardly therefrom, to form a generally frusto-conical open spider engaging within the open top portion of the coil of wire, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, and also have vertically extending lower end portions 37 forming a core for the coil of wire and extending downwardly along the center thereof, when fully coiled on the. reel, and maintaining a uniform core for the coil of wire during the entire unwinding operation. The sloping parts of the legs 33 are braced by an intermediate ring 39, extending within the outer legs 33 and having the inner legs 33 extending inwardly thereof.

, The top guide ring 15 is shown in Figure 8 as including a ring 49 having three radially extending. slats 41 extending inwardly from the periphery thereof and welded or otherwise secured thereto. The radially extending slats 41 terminate at their inner margins at the sleeve and are welded or otherwise secured thereto. The slats 41 are shown as being reinforced by an intermediate ring 42.

The top guide ring 15 may thus be placed on the top of the cap or top of the reel with the sleeve 30 in registry with the collar 29 after the placing of the core and guide 12 within the coil of wire coiled on the reel 10, as previously described, it being understood that when placing the top ring 15 on the top of the reel that the intermediate ring 16 is first placed on top of the core and guide 12, for lowering movement therewith to the limit of the chains 17. The chains 17 may bewelded or otherwise secured at their opposite ends to the rings 15 and 16, and may be of such a length as to space the intermediate guide ring 16 between the rings and 15 sufiiciently close to said rings to prevent kinking and snarling of the wire during the entire unwinding operation. a r

In operation of the unwinding device, assuming the reel 10 isrcarrying a full coil of wire extending from the base to substantially the top thereof, the core and guide member 12 is first placed on the top of the coil, with the legs 37 thereof in registry with the slots 31 and extending within the interior of the coil of wire and resting thereon. The intermediate guide ring 16 may then be placed on top of the core and guide 12 and the top guide ring 15 may be positioned on the top of the reel with its center sleeve 30 in registry with the collar 29.

The wire may then be trained-from the coil along the rings 35, 16 and 15 and may he turned about the drum 19 as illustrated in Figure 3. During the uncoiling of the wire, the wire will move around the guide'rings 35, 16 and 15, so spaced during the entire unwinding operation to uniformly guide the wire and prevent snarling and kinking thereof. At the same time'the core and guide 12, forming a core for the wire coil and main taining the coil of the proper uniform form as the wire is uncoiled therefrom will drop with the coil during the unwinding operation to form a continuous downwardly moving core and guide for the wire to promote orderly unwinding from the coil. As the limit of downward movement of the intermediate guide ring 16 is reached, and the core and guide 12 continues on its downward travel, the intermediate guide ring 16 will then come into operation to guide the wire between the rings 12 and 15, and assure guiding surfaces for the wire, spaced uniformly apart, and preventing any long unguided portions between the rings 12 and 15, and thus facilitating the unwinding of the wire and preventing tangling thereof.

1 It will be understood that modifications and variations in the present invention may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts thereof.

1 claim as my invention:

1. In a Wire guiding device for guiding wire taken off large horizontal stationary coils or wire from a position above the coil of wire, a stationary reel adapted to rest on the ground and having a plurality of spaced vertically extending stakes carrying a coil of Wire for substantially the length thereof, a guide and core member having a core portion adapted to fit within the center of a coil of wire on said reel and forming a downwardly moving core therefor and having a guide ring spaced outwardly of said stakes and engaged by the wire and forming a guide thereforas the wire is unwound from the top thereof, a second guide ring at'the top of the reel spaced outwardly of the stakes *the reoffa third guide'ring between said guide rings and movable-downwardly along the reel upon downward movement of said core and guide, and means limiting downward movement of said third guide ring'to provide a series of vertically spaced guides about which the wire is guided upon unwinding from the coil.

2. In a wire guiding device for guiding wire taken off large horizontal vertically extending coils of wire from a position spaced above the coil of wire, a stationary reel having a base adapted to rest on the ground and having a plurality of spaced upright stakes extendingupwardly therefrom, a cap for said reel joining said stakes together and having radial slots extending inwardly therealong and having a central guide collar, a guide and core in the form of a generally frusto-conical spider having an upper guide ring and converging legs depending therefrom and fitting within said slots for insertion within the center of a coil of wire on said reel to rest thereon and form a core therefor, a top guide ring having a central depending sleeve fitting within said collar and cooperating with said guide ring of said core to guide the wire as it is drawn vertically therefrom, and a movable guide ring between said rings, moving downwardly with said guide and core and limited in downward movement therewith to provide an intermediate guide between said upper guide ring on-said spider and said top guide ring, at least halfway between said top guide ring and said upper guide ring on said spider.

3. In a wire guiding device for guiding wire taken vertically from horizontally disposed coils of wire from above the top thereof, a stationary reel having a base adapted to rest on the ground and having a plurality of spaced upright stakes extending vertically therefrom, a cap joining said stakes together at the top thereof and having a central collar and segment pieces joining-said stakes with said collar and spaced apart to form a plurality of radial slots extending inwardly to said collar, a guide and coremovable downwardly along said stakes and formed of a generally frusto-conical spider having an upper guide ring and a plurality of legs converging and depending therefrom adapted to fit within said slots for engagement within a coil of wire on said stakes, to form a core and guide for the wire movable downwardly with the coil upon unwinding of the wire therefrom, a top guide ring having a central sleeve registerable within said collar to detachably hold said ring thereto and an intermediate guide ring resting on said guide ring of said guide and core and movable downwardly therewith, and means limiting downwardrmovement of said intermediate guide ring to provide spaced guides for unwinding the wire vertically from said coil, spaced sufiiciently close together to avoid kinking and snarling of the wire.

References Cited in'the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Lewis Mar. 23,1954 

